Science Fair on display at Ferron Elementary

Science is a broad topic and the students from Ferron Elementary brought science to life with their science fair on April 13.

The projects ranged from the simple to the complex. The younger students grew plants and studied soil and the best way to produce the best results with their plants. Some of the students studied pollination and how the bee takes pollen from the flowers and spreads it to other plants.

Grass was grown inside a sack and the students created their own grass head sculptures.

Some of the students studied levers and pulleys and put their knowledge to the test as they created their projects. One project explained how gears work. Another project demonstrated how electricity is made. One participant showed the blood lines and history of a race horse.

Other projects dealt with sound and how guitars work and how sound travels. One project described how a circuit is completed. One participant did an experiment with mice, she played loud music for the mouse and this slowed him down in his tunnel. When soft music was played the mouse was able to make his way through the tunnel more quickly.

One student collected bacteria from several surfaces and let it grow for a couple of days. She collected samples from the remote control, toilet, lunch room, her mouth, and several other objects. The lunch room and the remote control grew the most germs.

One project heated an aluminium can and then plunged it into water where it collapsed.

The younger students drew a picture of their favorite animal and did a report on that animal. They also created their animal with sculpting clay.

Science is a systematic enterprise that builds and organizes knowledge in the form of testable explanations and predictions about the universe.

The students tested their knowledge of their subject matter to come up with their conclusions about what they learned.

Several projects dealt with yeast and how it forms gases which cause bread to rise and also a demonstration of a balloon being blown up from the gas produced by the yeast was on display.

All of the students in the school visited each of the classrooms and listened to each other as they presented their projects and explained them to each other. The students seemed to enjoy this day of learning. There was also a time for the parents to visit the school to view the science projects.

Principal Brian Dawes said, "Throughout the day each class took turns presenting what they had learned. The first grade classes shared what they had learned about plants. They shared data that they had gathered from growing plants, pollination, growth rates and optimal growing conditions were explained by the first grades. Each second grade student had researched an animal. They each shared information about their animal, their habitat, and interesting facts. The third through sixth grade students each prepared a project related to their grades science core curriculum. There were a variety of topics some of which included home made electric circuits, sound waves, chemical changes with Mountain Dew, how record players work to transmit sound, the different types of trees in our mountains as well as light refraction, prisms and the physical properties of heat. Students had several opportunities to present their topics to students of various grades. They also were able to fill the role as an audience members as the science lessons were taught to them.

"It was very impressive to see the number of visitors that came to support our science day. This was not a competitive fair but rather a science show case where each student in grades 1-6 were able to showcase what they have learned about science," said Principal Dawes.